Mighty Oaks baseball wins two one-run games at Ocean, softball swept at Harford
COLLEGE BASEBALL Salem CC 8-13, Ocean 7-12 COLLEGE SOFTBALL Harford 6-10, Salem CC 5-5
By Riverview Sports News
TOMS RIVER — The Salem CC baseball team began its push for a Region 19 playoff spot with a pair of one-run victories on the road at Ocean CC.
The Mighty Oaks won the first game 8-7 and took the nightcap 13-12.
No other details were available.
The doubleheader sweep left them 16-19 overall, 11-10 in Region 19. Teams must be .500 or better either overall or in region play to qualify for the playoffs.
The series with Ocean wraps with a single game Tuesday at the Carneys Point Rec Complex.
Softball
BEL AIR, Md. — The Mighty Oaks softball team fell behind early in both games of their doubleheader, fought their way back to make a game of them both, but just couldn’t put enough together to overcome the deficit and were swept at Harford 6-5 and 10-5.
They fell behind in the opener 5-0 after two innings, but closed the gap with Emme Witter’s three-run homer in the fourth. After Harford pushed across a run in the home fourth, the Mighty Oaks scored two in the fifth on Lilly Peverelle’s sacrifice fly and Savannah Palverento’s RBI single to make it 6-5, but they couldn’t get closer.
They went down in order in the sixth. They had the tying run at second in the seventh with two outs, but the game ended on an offensive interference call.
They fell behind in the nightcap 6-1 after three innings. They made it 6-3 fourth on an RBI singles by Witter and Sawyer Simmons, but Harford scored four in the fifth to stretch the lead. The big blow of the inning was Izzy Hiebler’s three-run homer..
The Mighty Oaks return to action Thursday in a home doubleheader against Mercer.
Streitz’ first career home run gives Pennsville walk-off win over Wildwood; includes scores and details from Monday’s Salem County sports schedule
BASEBALL Clayton 13, Salem 3 Mastery Charter 10, Salem Tech 4 Schalick 27, Penns Grove 0 Pennsville 3, Wildwood 2 Woodstown 15, Overbrook 11 SOFTBALL Woodstown 8, Overbrook 4 Schalick 15, Penns Grove 0 Pennsville 12, Wildwood 0 BOYS GOLF Overbrook 184, Pennsville 202 Schalick 179, Woodstown 182 Salem Tech 199, Clayton 205 GIRLS GOLF OLMA 210, Schalick 236 TENNIS Woodstown 4, Highland 1 Pennsville 5, Millville 0 Clayton at Penns Grove Wildwood at Schalick BOYS LACROSSE Kingsway 19, Woodstown 2 GIRLS LACROSSE Kingsway 14, Woodstown 12
By Al Muskewitz Riverview Sports News
PENNSVILLE — Logan Streitz will remember his first high school home run for a long time. Largely for what it meant for his Pennsville baseball team Monday and partly for how long it took to determine it was a home run at all.
STREITZ
Streitz walked off the Eagles’ 3-2 win over Wildwood with a two-run homer with none out in the bottom of the seventh. The ball landed some 350 feet from home plate in about an 18-inch space between the chain-link outfield fence and a wooden fence on the boundary of the concrete company that lies just beyond the field.
The Wildwood outfielders who chased the fly into the gap pawed at the base of the fence for the ball thinking it might be a grounds rule double like a ball stuck in the ivy at Wrigley Field. Mason O’Brien, the Pennsville runner who started the inning with a single, was already around third base when the uncertainty set in. Eagles coach Matt Karr approached the umpires to clarify the call. It took the umps a moment, but they determined the ball had cleared the fence ending the game.
“I was kind of confused,” Streitz said. “It took me a minute to realize I’d seen it behind the fence, so then it kind of hit me if it went behind the first fence it had to be gone, right?”
“The home plate umpire said yeah I heard the wood,” Karr said. “I said, OK, well the chain link is in front of the wood, so if it hit the wood it had to go over the chain link fence. Thankfully they got the call right. It was a big spot for Logan. It was awesome.”
The blast, which came on his 151st varsity at-bat, also made Streitz a winning pitcher in one of his shortest outings on record. He came on to get the final out of the top of the seventh in the relief of starter O’Brien, who was as good as ever but reached his pitch limit. It was a five-pitch win. He worked an eight-pitch inning against Pitman as a sophomore.
O’Brien gave up six hits and struck out 10 in 97 pitches.
“That’s the first time he was really stretched out like that this year,” Karr said. “Mason’s a gamer. He did not want to come out of the game. He actually texted me last night and he said, coach, I don’t know how many I got, but I’m going to give you everything I got. I said I expect nothing less from you, buddy.”
Will Auty was equally impressive on the mound for the Warriors. The freshman gave up 10 hits, struck out four and didn’t walk a batter. He worked out of a bases-loaded no-out situation in the fifth that could have broken the game wide open, setting down the Eagles’ 4-5-6 hitters on an infield fly rule, a short fly to left that kept the runners from moving and a fly to center.
“He wasn’t throwing very hard, but he was flipping his curveball and he was throwing strikes,” Karr said. “And that’s a recipe in high school baseball for success.”
The Warriors took the opening and scored two when they came in to bat. That failure to produce would have been gut-wrenching for the Eagles had they lost the game.
“Before I went out to talk to them in the outfield I turned to (assistant coach Ryan Wood) and asked him for some wisdom,” Karr said. “I don’t want to kill the moment and steal it from two guys who earned it, but I also don’t want them to be happy and complacent and think that’s our standard, because it’s not. We shouldn’t have been here.
“We have aspirations of being a championship team, we cannot be OK with the way today shook out. We had opportunities where that moment shouldn’t have happened because we should have handled our business in the prior innings. We’ve got to find a way to just put it in play there and we didn’t.
“We come in here and talk about winning sectional championships and state championships. When you squander opportunities like we did today, in those big games down line, you’re not always going to get bailed out by a walk-off, two-run homer from a senior.”
The Eagles broke a scoreless tie in the fourth when Stevie Fatcher ripped a two-out single into left field. He stole second and eventually rode home on Logan Cowperthwait’s double that fell between two outfielders.
Trevor Troiano drew a one-out walk to get Wildwood’s go-ahead rally started. He moved to third on a run-and-hit single by Nolan Mawhinney and scored when Mawhinney beat Cooperthwait’s low throw to Streitz at second trying to get a force on Michael McWade’s grounder to third. Auty gave his team the lead by poking a single into right field.
The Eagles were in a good spot when the seventh inning began anyway, having the meat of the order coming to the plate. Mason got it started with a single and Streitz ended it.
“All day he was just throwing straight curveballs consistently,” Streitz said. “I think I had gotten five in row throughout all my at-bats. I kind of expected it. I sat there, looked for it. Mason got on for me and I just swung.
“I didn’t really feel it on the bat. I’d just kind of seen it up in the air, in the gap. I was hoping it would drop either way. I’ve hit a couple in the summer, but none of them compared to this. This is my first high school bomb. It’s pretty special being my first one.”
WOODSTOWN 15, OVERBROOK 11: The Wolverines broke away with a six-run second inning and led 14-2 after batting in the sixth, but had to hold on as the Rams put together threats in the sixth and seventh innings.
Noah Williams went 3-for-4 with three RBIs to lead the Wolverines’ 15-hit attack. Tommy Tucci had two hits and two RBIs, Talyn Prior and Drew Sutton both had a pair of hits and Stone Hassler had two RBIs.
Sutton had a bases-loaded single to center in the second inning that cleared the bases with the help of an error, then Tucci and Williams followed with RBI doubles. Hassler had a two-run double in the sixth that gave the Wolverines a 13-2 lead.
The Rams had the tying run in the on-deck circle with two outs in the seventh, but the Wolverines got out of it with no further damage.
SCHALICK 27, PENNS GROVE 0: Will Sieminski, Robert Strain and Evan Glaspey had three hits apiece for Schalick. The Cougars already had an 8-0 lead, then scored 11 in the fourth and eight in the fifth before reaching the run-rule threshold.
Jamari Whitley had two hits and two RBIs. Glaspey, Strain and Mason Sanchez drove in a pair of runs. Hot-hitting Ricky Watt had no official plate appearances in the game, but walked three times and scored a run.
MASTERY CHARTER 10, SALEM TECH 4: The Chargers scored two in the top of the first on Cole Sacks’ two-run single, but Warriors pitcher Ricardo Basilio kept them off the board until the seventh. Between the time the Chargers scored in the first and the seventh, Basilio allowed only two runners into scoring position.
Chase Pompper had two hits for the Chargers. Derwin Cabrera hit an inside the park homer for Mastery in the fourth inning.
CLAYTON 13, SALEM 3: The Rams scored two runs in the first inning but Clayton answered with six in the bottom of inning to take the lead for good. Troy Carey doubled home the first run and later scored on an error to give the Rams the early lead, but the Clippers batted around in the bottom of the inning to retake the lead.
The Rams scored their other run in the third when Austin Davis doubled and came home when the Clippers misplayed Carey’s grounder to first. Davis had two doubles in the game.
Softball
PENNSVILLE 12, WILDWOOD 0: Graillyn Weber went 3-for-4 with four RBIs and spun a three-hit shutout in the circle with 11 strikeouts. Weber retired the first nine batters she faced and got out of a bases-loaded, one-out situation in the fourth with two strikeouts.
Avery Watson also drove in four runs for the Eagles. Taylor Bass went 3-for-3.
The Eagles led 2-0 after three innings then broke it open with six runs in the fourth inning, highlighted by Gianna Evans’ two-run double and Watson’s two-run single. Watson also had a two-run single in the fifth inning.
WOODSTOWN 8, OVERBROOK 4: Madison LaPalomento went 3-for-4 and Talia Guardascione and winning pitcher Leah Clark both had two hits for the Wolverines. Clark gave up just three hits and no earned runs over the first six innings, striking out nine.
The Wolverines answered Overbrook’s two runs in the top of first with two in the bottom of the inning, then took the lead with two in the third on Clark’s RBI double and Lila Bowling’s sacrifice fly. They broke it open with four in the sixth.
Golf
SCHALICK 179, WOODSTOWN 182: Woodstown’s Logan Jones and Schalick’s Mikey Nelson shared medalist honors at the top of the leaderboard (42), but the Cougars’ Anthony Sepers (45) and Jaxon Weber (43) beat their men by 11 total shots in the fifth and sixth seed spots to make the difference in the close match at Centerton CC.
SALEM TECH 199, CLAYTON 205: Clippers sophomore Jackson Venuto birdied his second hole and shot a 4-over 40 to win medalist honors at Sakima CC, but Salem Tech put the next three scores in the 40s to win the match. Freshman Cohen Sutton led the Chargers with a 47, while freshman Daniel Atanasio and sophomore Sophia Conto carded 49s. at Sakima cc
OVERBROOK 184, PENNSVILLE 202: The Rams posted three rounds in the 40s at Kresson GC. Jeffrey Boyd won medalist honors with a 42, playing his first five holes in 1-over. Caden Thomas shot Pennsville’s low round (45)
OLMA 210, SCHALICK GIRLS 236: OLMA freshman Eva Acerba won medalist honors with a 50 at White Oaks CC. Lena Virga posted Schalick’s low round (54).
Tennis
WOODSTOWN 4, HIGHLAND 1 Drew Stengel (WO) def. Mohammad Sheyam, 7-6 (7-5), 3-6, 10-5 Mason Shimp (WO) def. Andrew Whitelock, 6-3, 6-4 Marcus Lorenzana (H) def. Luke Shaw, 6-4, 3-6, 10-8 Vincent Merendino-Nick DiTeodoro (WO) def. Leonardo Vittese-Jacob Roman, 6-1, 6-0 Connor Miller-Josh King (WO) def. Sakibul Alam-Mohammad Isa, 6-7 (5-7), 6-3, 11-9 Records: Woodstown 6-2, Highland 3-2
KINGSWAY 19, WOODSTOWN 2: Patrick Civitarese and Wyatt McLaughlin both scored three goals and five of their teammates scored two goals apiece as the Dragons remained undefeated and kept the Wolverines winless.
Girls lacrosse
KINGSWAY 14, WOODSTOWN 12: The teams battled to an 11-11 tie through three quarters before the Dragons pushed home three goals in the fourth. Delaney Walker scored five goals for Woodstown to run her career total to 189, Emma Morgan had three, Angelina Lindenmuth two and Isabella Lindenmuth and Arianna Hyman one each. Phoebe O”Rourke and Cecilia Gross scored four goals apiece for Kingsway.
Here’s a report on former Salem County prep players playing baseball and softball on the college level; will be updated every Monday; anyone missing? send additional players to al.muskewitz@gmail.com
Baseball
PLAYER
SCHOOL
GP
BA
H
HR
RBI
Elijah Crespo, Penns Grove
RCSJ-Cumb
11
.188
3
0
3
Lucas D’Agostino, Schalick
RCSJ-Cumb
11
.111
1
0
2
Andrew Pedrick, Woodstown
Harford CC
20
.387
24
2
26
Lucas Prendergast, Woodstown
York
30
.409
45
2
18
Jarrett Pokrovsky, Schalick
Penn
27
.279
29
1
11
Terrell Robinson, Salem
Rosemont
19
.240
12
0
7
Jackson Schalick, Schalick
Frostburg
35
.389
44
4
36
Caiden Spinelli, Woodstown
Rosemont
24
.267
20
0
10
Connor Starn, Pennsville
Keystone
9
.182
2
0
2
Rocco String, Woodstown
Salem CC
24
.254
18
3
21
Chase Swain, Woodstown
LaSalle
36
.360
50
7
32
Mike Valente, Woodstown
Salem CC
7
.000
0
0
0
Brent Williams, Woodstown
G-Beacom
21
.284
21
2
16
PITCHER
SCHOOL
GP
W-L
ERA
IP
K
Evan Biddle, Salem
Frostburg
6
1-0
8.53
6.1
4
Lucas D’Agostino, Schalick
RCSJ-Cumb
7
2-2
2.90
31.0
29
Ben Foote, Woodstown
Caldwell
5
1-1
16.62
4.1
2
Jack Holladay, Woodstown
Neumann
4
0-2
10.80
10.0
5
Peyton O’Brien, Pennsville
Harford CC
6
0-0
0.90
10.0
11
Luke Pokrovsky, Schalick
Penn
10
0-0
13.50
12.0
12
Terrell Robinson, Salem
Rosemont
4
0-0
8.10
6.2
2
Caiden Spinelli, Woodstown
Rosemont
2
0-0
27.00
1.1
1
Rocco String, Woodstown
Salem CC
3
0-1
49.50
2.0
3
Mike Valente, Woodstown
Salem CC
6
2-1
6.75
17.1
10
Luke Wood, Pennsville
McDaniel
7
3-1
5.83
29.1
25
Frostburg’s Jackson Schalick (Schalick).
Softball
PLAYER
SCHOOL
GP
BA
H
HR
RBI
Emily Holladay, Woodstown
Hartwick
3
.273
3
0
1
Tulana Mingin, Woodstown
East Stroudsburg
36
.319
38
0
4
Ava Ortiz, Salem
Salem CC
10
.286
2
0
2
Savannah Palverento, Pennsville
Salem CC
28
.371
23
1
20
Lilly Peverelle, Pennsville
Salem CC
30
.477
42
3
25
Bella Rappa, Pennsville
Salem CC
23
.456
26
0
26
Cayla Sbrana, Schalick
RCSJ-Cumb
12
.276
8
0
5
Sawyer Simmons, Pennsville
Salem CC
21
.172
6
1
5
NOTE: Tulana Mingin has 27 runs and is 16-19 in stolen bases
PITCHER
SCHOOL
GP
W-L
ERA
IP
K
Savannah Palverento, Pennsville
Salem CC
10
0-0
9.45
13.1
16
Cayla Sbrana, Schalick
RCSJ-Cumb
5
2-3
8.35
26.0
11
Raegan Wilson, Salem
Salem CC
14
6-5
6.42
52.1
37
Top photo: Tulana Mingin (Woodstown) (4).
NOTE: Statistics as accurate as updated by the schools.
Here is the Salem County sports schedule for the week of April 13-18; games start at 4 p.m. unless noted
APRIL 13 BASEBALL Salem at Clayton Salem Tech at Mastery Charter Schalick at Penns Grove Wildwood at Pennsville Woodstown at Overbrook SOFTBALL Overbrook at Woodstown Penns Grove at Schalick Pennsville at Wildwood BOYS GOLF Pennsville at Overbrook, Kresson GC, 3:30 p.m. Schalick vs. Woodstown, Centerton CC, 3:30 p.m. Salem Tech vs. Clayton, Sakima CC, 3:45 p.m. GIRLS GOLF Schalick vs. OLMA, White Oaks CC, 3:30 p.m. TRACK Gloucester Catholic, Wildwood at Salem TENNIS Highland at Woodstown, 3:45 p.m. Pennsville at Millville Clayton at Penns Grove Wildwood at Schalick BOYS LACROSSE Kingsway at Woodstown GIRLS LACROSSE Woodstown at Kingsway COLLEGE BASEBALL Salem CC at Ocean (2), 2 p.m. COLLEGE SOFTBALL Salem CC at Harford, 1 p.m.
APRIL 14 TENNIS Glassboro at Pennsville COLLEGE BASEBALL Ocean at Salem CC, 3:30 p.m.
APRIL 15 BASEBALL Pennsville at Penns Grove Pitman at Schalick Salem at Woodstown Salem Tech at Cape May Tech SOFTBALL Penns Grove at Pennsville Woodstown at Salem Schalick at Pitman BOYS GOLF Pennsville vs. Woodstown, Town & Country, 3:30 p.m. Schalick vs. West Deptford, River Winds, 3:30 p.m. Salem Tech vs. Gloucester Catholic, Westwood GC, 3:45 p.m. GIRLS GOLF Schalick vs. Delsea, Centerton CC, 3:30 p.m. TENNIS Timber Creek at Woodstown, 3:45 p.m. Penns Grove at Pitman Pennsville at Schalick TRACK Schalick at Woodstown, 3:45 p.m. Pennsville at Glassboro Penns Grove at Overbrook Pitman at Salem GIRLS LACROSSE Woodstown at Mainland
APRIL 16 BASEBALL Bridgeton at Penns Grove Pennsville at Millville SOFTBALL Sterling at Schalick TENNIS Cumberland at Woodstown, 3:45 p.m. Pitman at Pennsville TRACK Woodstown at Lenape, 3:30 p.m. Pennsville at Penns Grove BOYS GOLF Schalick vs. Pennsville, Sakima CC, 3:30 p.m. Woodstown vs. Highland, Town & Country, 3:30 p.m. BOYS LACROSSE Mainland at Woodstown COLLEGE SOFTBALL Mercer at Salem CC, 3 p.m.
APRIL 17 BASEBALL Cumberland at Woodstown Middle Twp. at Salem Pennsville at Pitman Salem Tech at Atlantic City SOFTBALL Cape May Tech at Salem Pitman at Pennsville Woodstown at Cumberland TENNIS Pitman at Pennsville, 3:45 p.m. Woodstown at Delsea, 3:45 p.m. Schalick at Penns Grove BOYS GOLF Salem Tech vs. Overbrook, Kresson GC, 3:30 p.m. Schalick vs. Lower Cape May, Centerton CC, 3:30 p.m. Pennsville vs. Audubon, Sakima CC, 4:30 p.m. GIRLS LACROSSE Woodstown at Millville COLLEGE BASEBALL Salem CC at Camden, 3 p.m.
APRIL 18 BASEBALL Schalick at Haddon Twp., TBD Salem at Gloucester, 10 a.m. Sterling at Woodstown, 11 a.m. Pennsville vs. Kingsway at Williamstown Tournament TRACK Woodbury Relays Woodstown girls at Penn Wood Invitational, 9 a.m. COLLEGE BASEBALL Camden at Salem CC (2), noon COLLEGE SOFTBALL Salem CC at Sussex, noon
After blowing big lead in opener, Salem CC splits softball doubleheader with Delaware Tech; Aguirre sets modern-era single-season HR record
SUNDAY REGION 19 SOFTBALL Salem CC 14-15, Delaware Tech 18-11 RCSJ-Gloucester 18-12, RCSJ-Cumberland 4-4 Lackawanna 26-22, Morris 0-2
By Al Muskewitz Riverview Sports News
PENNSVILLE – The Salem CC softball team saved themselves a lot of what interim head coach Mackenzie Freas called “emotional damage” when it won Game 2 of Sunday’s doubleheader with Delaware Tech after suffering a crushing loss in the opener.
The Mighty Oaks blew a nine-run lead in losing the opener 18-14, but bounced back in the nightcap even with a repeat of the opener brewing to win 15-11.
“It definitely showed what our girls have been the whole year – they’re resilient no matter what’s in front of them,” Freas said. “We had the Angel incident, we’ve had a lot of deaths throughout our team, our girls are doing things at home, all over the board, cross the country, so they are just resilient and showing up every day and being here and I think that proved it Game Two that no matter what the circumstance Game One you still come back and you’ve got to be the one to take the first punch and you can’t go down without swinging. They didn’t allow that (first game) to take them completely out.”
J.J. Aguirre hit three home runs for the Mighty Oaks in the doubleheader, setting the modern-era single-season home run record. She tied the old record with a three-run homer in the opener, then broke it with a pair of two-run shots in her first two at-bats in the nightcap.
She now has a Region 19-leading 11 homers on the season; the Mighty Oaks only hit 13 as a team as recently as 2023. Her 54 RBIs already match two-time Region Player of the Year Ella Hayes’ total of a year ago; Hayes’ 61 RBIs in 2024 is the modern-era school record.
The freshman from Texas went 4-for-7 with three homers and nine RBIs in the doubleheader. Lilly Peverelle went 6-for-9 with seven RBIs, homered in the first game and came within inches of a grand slam in the nightcap.
“I honestly don’t really know anything (about the record),” Aguirre said. “I know my goal. I came in today I want double digits in home run and I did it … Against them last time we played this pitcher struck me out and I wanted to get back and prove that that’s not who I am.”
She got Nos. 10 and 11 in her first two at-bats in the nightcap. The first one tied the game 2-2. The second one gave the Mighty Oaks a 5-2 lead as part of a 10-run third inning.
The first game loss can only be described as crushing. The Mighty Oaks looked on their way to a run-rule victory, scoring 10 runs in the third inning to open an 11-2 lead, but then gave up nine runs the next inning to lose all of it. The game went back and forth from there – with the Mighty Oaks leading twice more — until Del Tech scored five runs in the seventh to take their first lead since the first inning and then closed it out with a game-ending double play.
The Mighty Oaks’ woes in the opener were exasperated by four dropped fly balls in the outfield due to lazy approaches to the ball, prompting them to take fly balls between games, a practice that had done previous but gotten away from for various reasons. Jordyn Busch threw 187 pitches in going the distance in the circle for Salem, but at no time did the coaches consider lifting her from the game.
“Jordyn has gotten so much more mature in softball and I don’t think she realizes it yet,” Freas said. “We are so hard on her, but for the best way possible because we know how good she is at this game and how much she can stay composed, and even when she’s in a position the way that she was she still is keeping batters off balance.
“I think she was composed. She wasn’t allowing herself to slump. We always talk about body language; she wasn’t allow herself to slump. She was sitting in a groove and she was just grooving and ready to go. She was looking at that play for her teammates to kind of help her out.”
If there was a bright spot in the loss it was the Mighty Oaks were hitting the ball, and that carried over into the nightcap.
But the second game went almost the same way. The Mighty Oaks scored 10 runs in the third inning again to regain a 12-2 lead. The inning featured nine hits, including Aguirre’s second homer of the game and Peverelle’s three-run double off the top of the fence in right center.
They were three outs away from a run-rule win when Del Tech scored six in the fifth to extend the game. They were one hit away from walking it off in the bottom of the fifth with two already in and runners at second and third with two outs, but Del Tech shortstop Abby Marsh kept her team in the game by snaring Chantelle Haskey’s sharp liner that was headed into left field.
Del Tech kept the pressure on with Maggie Hubbard’s three-run homer in the sixth (14-11). The Mighty Oaks got one back in the home sixth, then Savannah Palverento got them out of the game by retiring the side in the seventh without incident.
Had they lost the nightcap in a similar fashion to blowing the opener, there’s no telling what kind of emotional spiral they may have fallen into.
“I definitely would’ve been disappointed,” Aguirre said.
But now they can go forward feeling somewhat good about themselves heading into a week that includes games with Harford and region rival Mercer.
With the day’s split, the Mighty Oaks split the season series with Del Tech. They had never beaten the Georgetown school since the revival of the program before winning the second game of their doubleheader there earlier this season.
Delaware Tech
200
920
5-
18
20
7
Salem CC
10(10)
210
0-
14
9
6
WP: Faith Jiminez. LP: Jordyn Busch. HRs: Madison Fox (DT), J.J. Aguirre (S), Lilly Peverelle (S).
MONDAY’S GAMES Salem CC at Harford CC TUESDAY’S GAMES RCSJ-Gloucester at Cecil College Lackawanna at Mercer Sussex at Morris Raritan Valley at Delaware Tech Camden at Brookdale RCSJ-Cumberland at Northampton Bergen at Middlesex THURSDAY’S GAMES Mercer at Salem CC Monroe at RCSJ-Gloucester Bergen at Dutchess Lackawanna at Frederick CC Middlesex at Orange County CC Bucks County at RCSJ-Cumberland Brookdale at Morris Morris at Sussex
Schalick went looking for arms to give it a chance against Toms River South and Hollywood, Schalick provided ‘exactly what we needed.’ includes county’s baseball, softball, tennis results
PITTSGROVE — After exhausting his two best pitchers trying to win a 10-inning division marathon the day before, Schalick baseball coach Sean O’Brien wondered if he’d have enough arms to get past one of the better teams from the Shore Friday morning.
Enter Mason Hollywood and Bo Schalick.
The two junior right-handers hadn’t thrown a lot this early in the season and they certainly hadn’t faced a team like they did Friday. They had their trials, but they never lost the lead and gave the Cougars every chance to knock off Group 3 Toms River South, 8-7.
Hollywood pitched the first four innings and left in a 4-4 tie. Schalick pitched the last three innings and turned the Indians back when they threatened in the sixth and seventh.
“They did exactly what we needed them to do every time they got out and pitch,” O’Brien said. “We know teams are going to hit them, they don’t throw super hard, but they are guys who can compete, they can locate, they can throw their off speed for strikes. We just have to play defense behind them, and for the most part we did. We made some mistakes late in the game, but those guys what we needed them to do.
“We’re not super deep as we were last year in our rotation, so we need other guys to step up and those two guys did that today.”
Initially, Hollywood and Schalick were going to be used in relief behind starter Cole Harley, but that plan was scuttled when Hartley pitched the final four innings (62 pitches) against Overbrook on Thursday.
The pitchers were told that night they would be going against the Indians, who came in undefeated in four games, and they did everything they could in the run-up to be ready. For Schalick, one of the rare athletes who can play for the name on the front and the back of the jersey, it was getting a good night’s sleep, stretching out and downing an energy drink in the morning.
Hollywood had thrown only 3 1/3 innings in two previous appearances this season, but he’d made nine pitching appearances (29 total innings) the previous two years at St. Joseph Academy.
He gave up one hit over the first three innings. He HBP/walked the bases loaded in the second, but got out of it with only one run scoring. He ran into trouble in the fourth, giving up back-to-back doubles, opening the door for the Indians to score three runs to tie it.
The Cougars gave him a 4-0 lead after two innings. They scored three in the first on Jamari Whitley’s RBI single, a run-scoring error and Travis Snodgrass’ bases-loaded single, then added another run in the second on Ricky Watt’s RBI double. Watt doubled in each of his first two at-bats.
“(O’Brien) just said it was like pitching against any other team; it doesn’t matter how good they are as long as you can throw the ball in there,” Hollywood said. “There were a little bit of nerve, but in the end I have a great team behind me. In the end there aren’t really any nerves when your team can make the plays.”
Schalick had made only one previous varsity pitching appearance, a two-inning stint in a rout of Clayton earlier this week where he threw 25 pitches. He threw 62 in closing out the Indians. He breezed through his first inning in 12 pitches, but threw 37 in in the sixth as the Indians batted around to score three runs and make it 8-7.
O’Brien had another pitcher in his pocket just in case, but he never needed him. South got the tying run in scoring position with one out in the seventh, but Schalick got out of it with a fly to center and, as the Indians got to the top of the order, his fourth strikeout to end the game.
“I felt good,” Schalick said. “There were a little nerves, but I feel like the adrenaline helped me with the fastball velocity and then my curveball was working at the beginning. (The last inning) I had a little nerves in the dugout before walking out, but I made sure I was keeping my head down, throwing strikes.”
“For them to come in and do that it just shows we can rely on them against good teams, too,” O’Brien said.
Schalick set Schalick up for the win with four runs in the fifth. The back end of the lineup set the table, then Evan Sepers and Watt both drew bases-loaded walks on 3-2 pitches and Whitley drilled the first pitch from left-handed reliever Karsin Migliori into left field for a two-run single.
Sepers reached base in three of his four plate appearances and scored all three times. Watt had two doubles and a walk, and Whitley had three hits and three RBIs
“Those guys have been swinging the bat really well,” O’Brien said of the top of his lineup. “We just need to be more consistent in the back end of the lineup. There are moments when we look really good and moments when we kind of fall off a little bit. The back end guys need to see pitches, need to work pitchers and find a way to get on base so we can turn over that lineup and they did a good job.
“If we can get that going, like last year, if our top end wasn’t hitting, the back end was. Once we start doing that and then we clean up the defense and pitching becomes more consistent we’re going to be a really good team.”
WOODSTOWN 11, COLLINGSWOOD 8: Walker Battavio and Ty Coblentz each drove in two runs with consecutive two-out hits in the seventh inning to give the Wolverines the lead, which they held through the bottom of the inning.
The game was tied 7-7 going into the seventh. The Wolverines (4-2) loaded the bases on Drew Sutton’s leadoff double, a one-out intentional walk to Chase Harding (who hit his first career homer earlier in the game), and a single by Jackson Fraley.
After a strikeout got the second out, Battavio singled to second to break the tie and Coblentz followed with a double to plate two more insurance runs. Coblentz tied the game in the sixth with a two-out single.
The Panthers (1-2) got a run in the home seventh and had the tying run in the on-deck circle, but Talyn Priore induced the next two batters into ground outs to end the game.
Coblentz went 3-for-5 with three RBIs. Battavio had two hits and two RBIs and Sutton had two hits. Harding hit a two-run homer in the second inning to open the scoring.
HADDON HEIGHTS 14, PENNSVILLE 3: The Garnets scored six runs in the first inning and the Eagles could never dig out of the hole.
The visitors sent 10 batters to the plate in the first inning. Jaxon Motta had a two-run double and Collin Camarote a two-run single to highlight the big start. Ryan Govito hit a solo homer in the sixth.
Jeff Wagner hit a solo homer in the third to get the Eagles on the board. He also had an RBI single in the fifth.
Softball
WOODSTOWN 3, GLASSBORO 1: The Wolverines broke a scoreless tie with three runs in the third inning and Leah Clark made it stand by winning a pitching duel with Glassboro’s Gianna Askin.
The Wolverines took the lead on Madison LaPalomento’s RBI single and two more runs scored when the Bulldogs misplayed Grace Hitchner’s hard grounder to the right side of the infield.
Clark held the visitors in check on six hits while striking out seven. The Bulldogs scored a run in the fifth on Scarlett Saicic’s two-out RBI double, then Clark allowed only two more base runners the rest of the game.
SALEM TECH 8, HADDONFIELD 5: Shelby Drummond went 4-for-5 with two RBIs and Claire Kier went 3-for-4 with three RBIs as the first-year Chargers (7-1) won their fifth in a row. Shelby Liber drove in a pair of runs. Isabele Roberts threw a complete game in the circle, allowing seven hits, two earned runs and striking out nine.
HADDON HEIGHTS 7, PENNSVILLE 6: Ruby Caviston walked it off with a homer with one out in the bottom of the seventh. The Eagles tied the game with two runs in the sixth on Graillyn Weber’s RBI double and Kenzie Widener’s RBI single. Weber (three doubles) and Widener both had three hits and three RBIs in the game. The Eagles outhit their hosts, 12-7.
GLOUCESTER CATHOLIC 9, SCHALICK 3: The Rams answered Schalick’s three runs in the top of the first with three in the bottom of the inning, then took the lead for good on a passed ball with two outs in the second inning with the bases loaded. The Rams added three more in the fourth, then Shaili Monaghan held the Cougars scoreless on one hit over the final three innings.
OVERBROOK 23, PENNS GROVE 0: Peyton Wood had two hits and three RBIs and Gianna Simon cleared the bases and scored on a bases-loaded triple-and-error combination in a 12-run first inning and two Overbrook pitchers held the Red Devils to two hits while striking out nine. Nyasia Numan had both of the Red Devils’ hits.
Salem CC baseball gets back on winning track; softball erupts for record 50 runs in doubleheader sweep at Raritan Valley
FRIDAY BASEBALL Salem CC 12, Middlesex 7 FRIDAY SOFTBALL Salem CC 23-27, Raritan Valley 1-1
By Al Muskewitz Riverview Sports News
CARNEYS POINT – John Holt knows good his Salem CC baseball team can be if it ever played to its potential. He just had to convince them of that.
Giving up 71 runs in the last three games has a way of sapping a team’s confidence, but it’s nothing a good ol’ heart-to-heart can’t fix.
That’s the approach the Mighty Oaks took earlier this week after three atrocious outings on the road against Montgomery County and Brookdale. A day after a 21-5 shelling at Brookdale, Holt brought the fellas together for a two-way talk about what has been happening and why, what needed to change and what lies ahead (a playoff berth if they can right the ship).
What followed, everyone in the organization agreed, was two of the best practices the team has had all year and it culminated in a 12-7 series opening win over Middlesex at The Treehouse Friday.
“We had a talk early this week after that Brookdale game and the guys really came together,” Holt said. “The leadership really stepped up and they made the decision that we had to make some changes energy wise and accountability wise and these guys really stepped up and had, honestly, the best two practices of the year getting ready for this.
“We preach one day at a time here, but it’s one game at a time and one step at a time. If these guys play the way they’re capable of playing, we’ve got a shot. We had to remind them who they were and what kind of ballclub they can be and they showed it. They’re a good baseball team when we play baseball and we don’t give things away and keep things routine.”
The Mighty Oaks came out hot. They batted around in the home first to score six runs, brushing off the run Middlesex got in the top of the inning, and never trailed again.
Six of the first eight batters reached base and scored. The two that didn’t hit a sacrifice fly (Colin McLaughlin) and a two-run single (Aidan Nestor). Then they added three more runs in the second on Rocco String’s RBI double and McLaughlin’s two-run single.
The Mighty Oaks pounded 13 hits in the game. Roman Hernandez had four (and two RBIs). Nestor had a career-high three (and three RBIs). McLaughlin and Tyler Hacker both had two. McLaughlin started at third after it was learned Jay Barber was involved in a car crash earlier in the day. Barber hoped to rejoin the team in time for Saturday’s doubleheader at Middlesex.
“The energy was just different,” freshman pitcher Nick Reckard said.
“Honestly, it just started at practice, we started building off that practice,” Nestor said. “We had a few good I/Os, stuff like that, it started getting loud and after it was like, all right, we gotta go all in. We’re like burn the board, we gotta go all in, into each game, one by one, and just compete. Coach Holt believes in us and he reminded us after Brookdale. We built off the energy of each other and competed for the whole nine (innings) and good things ended up happening.”
Sophomore Seth McCormick started for the Mighty Oaks. He pitched into the sixth inning, giving up six runs on six hits, walking or hitting five and striking out six before coming out in the middle of a count with an elbow injury of some concern. The players all wore pink wrist wraps during the game in support of McCormick’s seriously ill mother.
Louie Rivera and Reckard followed McCormick to the mound. Rivera finished the sixth, retired the side in order in the seventh and faced two batters in the eighth. Reckard finished the eighth and then ninth, giving up two hits in 1 2/3 innings that was his best outing since throwing four scoreless inning against weak Delaware County on March 24.
“It was refreshing, for sure,” Reckard said. “It was refreshing to go out there and throw the ball good. I felt like the two games I struggled with I was throwing good, I just didn’t hit my spots. To get that and for my coach to trust me, it was awesome. It’s definitely a confidence booster.”
Middlesex
102
003
010-
7
8
1
Salem CC
631
001
10x-
12
13
4
WP: Seth McCormick (3-3). LP: Jimmy Kehoe (1-1).
Softball
BRANCHBURG — The Mighty Oaks had another record-setting doubleheader when they swept Raritan Valley 23-1 and 27-1.
The 50 runs are the most they’ve scored in a doubleheader since the revival of the program, eclipsing the 46 runs they scored in a sweep of Morris on March 28.
Lilly Peverelle had three hits and three RBIs in the opener and Emme Witter hit a grand slam in the fifth inning to complete a five RBI game. Raegan Wilson and Savannah Palvarento combined on a three-hitter in the circle.
The nightcap belonged to Palverento. She had three hits and four RBIs, hitting a two-run homer and two-run single in the 13-run first inning, and pitched the first two innings in the circle.
Palverento and Witter combined on a five-inning two-hitter and faced only two over the minimum. Palverento gave up a leadoff single, then retired the next six batters in a row. Witter struck out the first five she faced before yielding a double.
Sawyer Simmons went 3-for-3 with three RBIs and scored five runs. Ava Ortiz also went 3-for-3 and Jalyn Rambally also had three hits.
Salem CC
269
24-
23
11
2
Raritan Valley
000
01-
1
3
6
WP: Raegan Wilson. HR: Emme Witter (S)
Salem CC
(13)76
10-
27
16
0
Raritan Valley
100
00-
1
2
5
WP: Savannah Palverento. HR: Savannah Palverento (S)
Red-hot Schalick catcher’s walk-off homer in tenth lifts Cougars over Overbrook; includes scores and highlights of Thursday’s Salem County sports action
THURSDAY’S SCORES BASEBALL Schalick 11, Overbrook 8, 10 inns. Pennsville 16, Clayton 2, 5 inns. Pitman 11, Salem 0, 5 inns. Pleasantville 10, Penns Grove 0 SOFTBALL Glassboro 21, Penns Grove 0 Pennsville 18, Clayton 1 Pitman 17, Salem 4 Schalick 13, Overbrook 4 BOYS GOLF Woodstown 172, Cumberland 210 TENNIS Delsea 5, Pennsville 0 Overbrook 3, Schalick 2 Timber Creek 3, Penns Grove 2 Woodstown 4, Haddon Heights 1 TRACK Glassboro 75, Woodstown 66 Overbrook at Schalick Pennsville at Penns Grove BOYS VOLLEYBALL Triton 2, Salem Tech 0 (25-13, 25-13) BOYS LACROSSE Holy Spirit 5, Woodstown 4 GIRLS LACROSSE Holy Spirit 13, Woodstown 9
By Al Muskewitz Riverview Sports News
PITTSGROVE — It is not “normal baseball” they play when Overbrook and Schalick get together on the diamond, but one thing that is normal is the way Ricky Watt has been delivering for the Cougars this season.
The teams have played some of the craziest games their coaches can remember since they’ve been involved in the series, a series that has had triple plays, big plays, big hits and walk-offs – and they added another crazy chapter to it Thursday..
Schalick walked it off 11-8 on Watt’s three-run homer with none out in the bottom of the tenth, but not before Overbrook rallied twice to force extra innings and cut down the game-winning run at the plate to complete a ninth-inning-ending double play to extend the game or the Cougars made two nice plays in the infield late to keep the Rams at bay.
Is that crazy enough for you?
“At our place it’s usually not as crazy, but at their place it’s … never a normal game, let’s put it that way,” Schalick coach Sean O’Brien said. “Luckily we’ve come out on top.
“The games are always tight, especially at their place. It’s always a back and forth. There’s always one team that’s up and the other team comes back. It’s not normal baseball I would say. Because the games are always tight, I can’t even say we’ve won this many games (in the series). I don’t even know, but I know the games are always competitive.”
Wyatt Cushane led off the Cougars’ winning rally by reaching on an error and leadoff man Evan Sepers drew a walk. Overbrook coach Greg Himes passed on the idea of putting Watt on to load the bases because there were equally dangerous hitters behind him. Jamari Whitley already had two hits and Bo Schalick was 4-for-5 with four RBIs.
Watt fouled off the first pitch, then brought the game to a dramatic close with his homer to center.
“I was just trying to hit the ball hard,” he explained. “There were guys in scoring position, I was just trying to put a ball in play. I got a little jammed, I didn’t get all of it. We’ve got a pretty big field. I didn’t think it was going to go out, but I guess I just got enough of it.
“I’d say my home run against Woodstown last year (in the Elmer Classic), that was probably my favorite one so far, but this one’s coming a close second.”
The energy Watt brings to the Cougars is, well, electric. The latest blast was his fourth homer in five games this season (in 16 at bats) and the third game in a row he’s gone yard. The junior catcher, who wears No. 5, had five hits and five RBIs in the game – both career highs – and is now batting .812 for the season (13-for-16) with 14 RBIs and a slugging percentage of 1.750.
The Cougars are 7-1 all-time in games Watt homers.
“It’s funny, last year he would get overlooked because we had Luke (Pokrovsky) last year,” O’Brien said. “People don’t realize how good of a player Ricky really is.
“He’s come into the season locked in. He’s looked good all preseason, during practices, during games; he’s just consistent. He was already a good player, but he just worked so much harder to be where he’s at. I’m kind of surprised how hot he is, I thought he might cool down a little bit, but he’s such a good player I think he’s going to be pretty consistent this year.”
The Cougars thought they had the winning run an inning before Watt’s heroics. Courtesy runner Will Sieminski was on third with one out after he was sacrificed over following Cole Hartley’s leadoff double. Mason Hollywood lofted a fly to a drawn-in outfield that Chase Terramagra caught in medium centerfield. Sieminski tagged, but Terramagra’s throw came straight through without a relay and catcher Connor McNally reached back up the line to tag the runner for the final out of the inning.
“We were selling out on that right there,” Himes said. “That was a do-or-die situation. We brought them up in that situation. If you look at the book before that, he’s the kid who lined out to end that inning. He’s young and I thought what a good learning experience for him. He was in his feels a little bit and we told him you’d have to make a play. What a good learning experience for him to know I did what I could do, the kid made a great play, now I have to go make a better one. That’s gonna pay dividends for us in the long run. It’s about the playoffs.”
Cushane robbed Terramagra of a potential go-ahead RBI in the top of the inning with a lunging snag to the glove side to end the inning with runners at first and second.
The Rams, who suffered a late-inning loss at Pennsville earlier in the week, rallied twice to tie the game. They were down 6-2 when Schalick starter Whitley left the mound, then scored four in the sixth to tie it the first time. Whitley gave up two hits and struck out 10 in his five innings.
The Cougars retook the lead in the bottom of the sixth on Whitley’s sacrifice fly and Bo Schalick’s third RBI hit of the game, then Overbrook retied it with two from the bottom of the lineup off Hartley in the seventh. The Rams scored the tying run on a squeeze bunt by Frank McLaughlin the looked like it might go foul, but hit a bump in the skin infield and stayed in play.
“That’s Overbrook baseball,” Himes said of his team’s resiliency. “Since I’ve been here seven years it’s the way that we like to play. It’s who we are as a town, it’s who we are as a personality.
“We have a young group. The past couple years we had a playing group that played together since they were probably 8 years old. This playing group is really figuring out the speed of the game. It’s great to see us executing on stuff early on.”
Hartley didn’t allow another run and only one hit after McLaughlin’s game-tying squeeze. That’s the element that stands out to the game’s hero.
“I wouldn’t have hit that ball if Cole didn’t keep us in the game,” Watt said. “I think that’s probably the biggest highlight.”
Overbrook catcher Connor McNally (lower photo) reacts after putting the tag on Schalick’s Will Sieminski to deny the potential winning run in the bottom of the ninth inning. (Top photo) Ricky Watt celebrates his winning three-run walk-off homer in the tenth.
PENNSVILLE 16, CLAYTON 2: Logan Streitz had a pair of two-run doubles in a 10-run first inning and Jeff Wagner hit a two-run homer and drove in four runs. Dante Cummings went 3-for-3 with two RBIs.
Logan Cowperthwait started and gave the Eagles (4-0) four shutout innings before giving way to Grady Sanders in the fifth. Cowperthwait gave up one hit, a first-inning single, and struck out five.
PITMAN 11, SALEM 0: Liam Bailly spun a five-inning one-hitter, striking out seven and facing three batters over the minimum. After giving up a walk in the first inning, Bailly retired nine in a row until Troy Carey singled to right with two outs in the fourth.
The Panthers took control with an eight-run second inning, capped by Steven Clifford’s two-run double. Clifford had two hits and three RBIs.
PLEASANTVILLE 10, PENNS GROVE 0: Joseph DeLaCruz and Edriarlyn Caraballo held Penns Grove to two singles. Liam Irvin and Angel Maldonado had the Red Devils’ two hits.
Softball
PENNSVILLE 18, CLAYTON 1: The Eagles erupted for 10 runs in the first inning and cruised to their second straight win. The heart of the Eagles’ lineup — Graillyn Weber, Kylie Harris, Avery Watson and Kenzie Widener — were a combined 10-for-12 with 10 RBIs and 10 runs scored. Weber and Watson both had three hits. Three Pennsville pitchers combined to hold the Clippers to five hits.
SCHALICK 13, OVERBROOK 4: The Cougars overcame a 2-1 deficit with six runs in the fourth inning to remain undefeated. A Seven players had multiple hits and three had multiple RBIs as the Cougars remained undefeated. AAAA Lauglin led the assault with three hits, including a pair of RBI singles in the fourth-inning rally. Liv VanAcker, Paige Sparks, Khloe McGrath, Alex Shimp, Emma Cain and Kassidy Sickler had two hits apiece.
PITMAN 17, SALEM 4: The Panthers took control with 13 runs in the second inning. Emery Sharpnack had three hits and two RBIs, while Kendall Bennett had two hits and three RBIs.
GLASSBORO 21, PENNS GROVE 0: Scarlett Saicic went 3-for-3 with two RBIs and two Glassboro pitchers combined to hold the Red Devils to one hit.
Tennis
DELSEA 5, PENNSVILLE 0 Zeph Kell (D) def. Sawyer Humphrey, 6-2, 6-1 Eli Croce (D) def. Lucas Cooksey, 6-3, 6-3 Zach Natalie (D) def. Carter Willis, 6-1, 6-0 Jacob Bramble-Jude Thompson (D) def. Coen Rinnier-Jacob Cheeseman, 6-1, 6-2 Marcus Salgueiro-Thomas Maronski (D) def. Ian Peacock-Matthew Forino, 2-6, 7-5, 10-6 Records: Delsea 5-0, Pennsville 3-4
OVERBROOK 3, SCHALICK 2 Connor Kustera (O) def. Gabe McFeeley, 6-1, 6-0 Gabe Martinez (O) def. Reece Loatman, 6-4, 6-1 Colin Campbell (O) def. Tyr Brattlie, 6-1, 6-2 No doubles reported. Records: Overbrook 3-1, Schalick 3-2
TIMBER CREEK 3, PENNS GROVE 2 Kyle Clark Blanding (TC) def. Alex Ramirez Martinez, 6-3, 6-1 Adam He (TC) def. Anthony Pacheco, 6-2, 6-2 Juan Ortiz-Adam Gonzalez (PG) def. Gabriel Castro-Keenan King, 6-2, 6-4 Jesus Arredondo-Rene Ruiz (PG) def. Shawn Allen-Stephen Fehon, 6-0, 6-0 Only matches reported. Records: Timber Creek 2-1, Penns Grove 1-1
WOODSTOWN 172, CUMBERLAND 210: Woodstown’s Greyson Hyland won medalist honors with a 42 that included back-to-back birdies on Holes 6 and 7 at Town & Country Golf Links. Teammates Jack Bucksar and Logan Jones both shot 43.
WOODSTOWN: Jack Bucksar 43, Greyson Hyland 42, Nate Valente 44, Logan Jones 43; Alejandro Vazquez 46, Lucas Fulmer 46. CUMBERLAND: Cristian Godinez 52, Joseph Nolan 45, Giuseppe Impellizzeri 55, Thomas Marguglio 58; Brian Feliciano 60
Boys lacrosse
HOLY SPIRIT 5, WOODSTOWN 4: Connor Haney and Bob Waddington scored two goals apiece, but the Wolverines fell to remain winless. Nehemiah Carter was credited with two assists.
Girls lacrosse
HOLY SPIRIT 13, WOODSTOWN 9: Taylor Lyons scored five goals and Grace Marczyk had four to hand Woodstown its first loss of the season.
Salem Rams get board approval to open 2026 football season in Ohio; also scores and highlights from Wednesday’s Salem County sports schedule
WEDNESDAY’S SCORES BASEBALL Penns Grove 21, Salem 4 Woodstown 3, Glassboro 0 SOFTBALL Salem 23, Penns Grove 0 Woodstown 10, Gloucester Catholic 7 TENNIS Kingsway 3, Woodstown 2 BOYS VOLLEYBALL Westhampton Tech at Salem Tech BOYS GOLF West Deptford 164, Woodstown 194 COLLEGE SOFTBALL Cecil 5-1, Salem CC 0-11
By Al Muskewitz Riverview Sports News
SALEM – Kemp Carr is the type of coach who will play any team, anytime, anywhere, so when he came up empty going through New Jersey trying to find a Week Zero game for his Salem High School football team he went searching.
Wednesday night, the Salem City school board overwhelmingly approved a trip that will have the Rams opening their 2026 season in southwest Ohio, playing a historically strong program in a stadium that once was home to a team that would become a seminal NFL franchise.
The Rams will open their season Aug. 29 against Ironton, Ohio. The town is on the Ohio River, about eight hours from Salem, in the wedge between Kentucky and West Virginia.
The game will be played in Tanks Memorial Stadium, the original home of the Ironton Tanks, the legendary independent pro team (1919-30) that evolved into the Detroit Lions.
“I’m extremely excited for the kids having the opportunity to play other schools outside the state,” Carr said, “but also an opportunity for folks to see how we represent and play football for the state of New Jersey coming out of Salem as well as being able to give them some exposure to two colleges … so it’s a recruitable moment.”
Kemp sought out “several” in-state teams to complete the Rams’ schedule, but nothing materialized. He thought he had a game in West Virginia, but it fell through, too. He dropped an inquiry into the Ohio scheduling portal and said six responded positively within 30 minutes. He said he chose the Fighting Tigers because they were the first to respond.
The trip also will include an educational component as the team will make visits to Marshall University and Ohio University while there.
“The biggest thing for us, and it’s not just athletics, we really try to get our kids exposed to things that are outside of Salem County and outside of New Jersey and this is just another example of us being able to do that for our students,” retiring Salem principal John Mulhorn said. “It’s going to be a great opportunity for them.”
The Rams are trending upward after falling on some tough times the last couple years. They had their first winning season since 2022 last year, going 6-5 and reaching the second round of the South Jersey Group I playoffs after going winless the year before.
The last time they played out of state was 2023 when a late-developing scheduling snafu had them opening the season against Allentown’s Executive Education Charter in Lafayette College’s Fisher Stadium. They hosted Conwell-Egan (Pa.) in 2018.
“We’re glad we’re going to have a Week Zero game,” Carr said. “Last year we basically got Pleasantville at the last minute. Knowing that you’re going to have a Week Zero game in April feels a lot better than you getting that game in July or the end of May. This is good stuff.
“This is something that’s happening all over the state; we’re not the only ones. There are multiple teams that are going to be playing out of state. There are some New Jersey teams going to Florida and going to Texas. We’re just happy to get on a bus and go to Ohio.”
Ironton will give them a test. The Fighting Tigers have gone 60-8 since 2021 and produced 14 Division I players the last three years, but in 2026 they will be looking to bounce back from sanctions related to what the Ohio High School Athletic Association called “serious and pervasive” recruiting violations spanning 2018-25. Among its penalties were a ban from defending the 2024 Division V state title it retained, a fine, probation (three years) and coach suspensions for 2026..
District superintendent Sommer McCorkle told Huntington, W.Va., television station WSAZ in a statement last fall there would be “systemic changes” to local policies on enrollment and transfers following the OHSAA’s investigation and findings. Trevon Pendleton was retained as the Fighting Tigers’ head coach but the school board eliminated the athletics director position he held.
Last season they were officially 8-2, but won nine games on the field before having their final game forfeited. They put up 42 points in eight of their nine wins and 55 or more in all four of their games after the loss with a single-game high of 70. They played teams from New York, Virginia, Kentucky and Pennsylvania as well as Ohio.
The Fighting Tigers will have one game under their belt when they play the Rams. Their season opener takes place the same week Salem plays Camden in its preseason scrimmage.
“We don’t duck no smoke,” Carr said. “Iron sharpens iron and it can’t do anything but make us better one way or the other, no matter what the outcome is. We’re going to learn from it. We’re going to have an opportunity for a get-better moment. This is what you want to do. They’re extremely excited about it over there and so are we.”
SALEM RAMS FOOTBALL SCHEDULE Week 0: at Ironton, Ohio Week 1: Paulsboro Week 2: Audubon Week 3: at Schalick Week 4: Overbrook Week 5: Woodstown Week 6: at Clayton Week 7: at Burlington City Week 8: at Pennsville
Baseball
WOODSTOWN 3, GLASSBORO 0: Drew Sutton’s two-run single to right in the sixth inning extended the lead and two pitchers combined on a four-hit shutout as the Wolverines avenged a walkout loss to the Bulldogs in their last game and snapped a two-game losing streak.
Sutton’s hit, his second of the game, came after Ty Coblentz and Luke Fraley opened the inning with singles. The Wolverines took a 1-0 lead in the second on Noah Williams’ two-out RBI single.
Walker Battavio pitched the first five innings of the shutout for the Wolverines. He allowed three hits, walked none and struck out seven. Freshman Talyn Priore worked the last two innings, giving up a hit and striking out one.
PENNS GROVE 21, SALEM 4: Liam Irvin had two doubles and six RBIs and was the winning pitcher as the Red Devils picked up their first win of the season.
Softball
WOODSTOWN 10, GLOUCESTER CATHOLIC 7: Senior Ellie Wygand’s first career homer, a two-run shot to left field, capped a five-run seventh inning that broke a 5-5 tie and lifted the Wolverines to victory. The homer came in her 188th career at-bat.
Lila Bowling got the winning rally started with a one-out double. Leah Clark singled home the go-ahead run. Another run scored on an error and Macie Moore singled home another run, setting the stage of Wygand’s homer.
SALEM 23, PENNS GROVE 0: Julliana Love hit an inside-the-park home run and Avah Brown pitched a four-inning no-hitter with eight strikeouts as the Rams scored their first win of the season.
Love went 2-for-4 and drove in three runs. Her homer came in a seven-run second inning. MMMMM Johnson went 3-for-4 with two RBIs.
WEST DEPTFORD 164, WOODSTOWN 194: Brady Cobb parlayed his local knowledge of Riverwinds Golf Club into two birdies and a 1-under-par 35 to win medalist honors and lead the Eagles to victory. Greyson Hyland posted Woodstown’s low round (42). WEST DEPTFORD: Brady Cobb 35, Ben Perticari 39, Grayson Ryer 43, Chase Dunda 47. WOODSTOWN: Nate Valente 50, Alejandro Vazquez 51, Greyson Hyland 42, Lucas Fulmer 51; Blake Bialecki 51, Austin Wood 56.
College softball
NORTH EAST, Md. — The Salem CC softball team split its doubleheader at Cecil College with each team’s winning pitcher delivering a gem.
Jordyn Busch threw a one-hitter as the Mighty Oaks won the nightcap 11-1 to earn the split. Cecil won the opener 5-0 with Taylor Stapleford spinning a no-hitter with 19 strikeouts
The only hit Busch allowed in the five-inning nightcap was a one-out single in the second inning. She gave up an unearned run, walked three and struck out six.
Lilly Peverelle, J.J. Aguirre and Emme Witter all had a pair of hits for the Mighty Oaks. Aguirre and Sawyer Simmons both drove in a pair of runs.
The no-hitter in the opener was Stapleford’s second of the season. The only balls the Mighty Oaks put in play against her were Peverelle’s ground out in the sixth inning and Savannah Palverento’s bunt to the pitcher in the seventh. She retired the last 13 batters she faced.
Down to his last strike, Layfield delivers go-ahead single in Pennsville’s win over Overbrook; Watt hits third homer in first four games in Schalick rout of Clayton; includes scores and highlights from Tuesday’sSalem County sports action
TUESDAY’S GAMES BASEBALL Schalick 23, Clayton 3 Pennsville 4, Overbrook 2 Salem Tech 25, Winslow 7 SOFTBALL Schalick 20, Clayton 1 Pennsville 14, Overbrook 6 Haddon Heights 7, Woodstown 2 BOYS GOLF Clayton 236, Pennsville 240 Woodstown 166, Overbrook 218 Pitman 169, Salem Tech 255 GIRLS GOLF Williamstown 216, Schalick 226 TENNIS Mainland 5, Schalick 0 BOYS LACROSSE Clearview 14, Woodstown 7 GIRLS LACROSSE Woodstown 10, Clearview 9 COLLEGE BASEBALL Brookdale 21, Salem CC 5
By Al Muskewitz Riverview Sports News
PENNSVILLE – Jake Layfield battled back from an 0-2 count to slice a two-run, two-out bases-loaded single into right field to snap a 2-2 tie in the sixth inning and lift Pennsville to a 4-2 win over Overbrook.
The Eagles (3-0) loaded the bases on single by Jeff Wagner, Stevie Fatcher and Grady Sanders to finally get Overbrook starter Anthony Nucera out of the game. Nucera held the Eagles to three hits and turned back a threat in the fourth before leaving with one out in the sixth after throwing 84 pitches.
Rams’ reliever Luke Boyd struck out Logan Cowperthwait for the second out of the inning and had Layfield down to his last strike. But the junior shortstop, the No. 9 hitter in the batting order, worked the count to 2-2, showing good discipline to lay off a close curveball on 1-2, before poking his go-ahead hit into right field.
Layfield said he wasn’t worried down in the count because he was getting “encouragement” from his teammates on the bases.
“My heart rate was probably like 125 a little bit, but I took my time before I got in the box, I didn’t want to just step in there,” he said. “I took a couple breaths, looked at my coaches a couple times. I’m pretty sure he just gave me the go-ahead sign three times. He was probably getting a little annoyed, but I had to keep my composure.
“Being down 0-2 was not fun at first, but … I kept a good eye. The curveball was a close one. I’m just glad my pitch was over. I think they were great teammates for (encouraging) me. That was a good thing.”
“He was really battling and I was just trying to help him as much as I could,” Fatcher said.
It was just Layfield’s second hit of the season and third of his career, but he wasn’t getting many chances to bat as he is this year.
“I was very happy for him,” Eagles coach Matt Karr said. “Last year he kind of got thrown into the fire for us. Halfway through the season we made him our starting shortstop and we DH’d for him every single game. It kind of became a little inside joke among the guys on the team that he was getting DH’d for.
“Then we graduate those guys and some of these guys are expected to take that step up. He’s put together some good at bats. Even before that inning we were talking about the pinch-hitter and Aaron (McAllister), my first-base coach, said I wouldn’t mess with Layfield. He’s put together some good at-bats today, he’s fouled some pitches off, I think he’s on to something. So he kind of had an eye for it. Jake was in a big spot and came up clutch.”
The Eagles scored single runs in the second and third innings, tying the game each time. The first one scored on Cowperthwait’s infield ground out and the second on Logan Streitz’ line single to center. They had the go-ahead run in scoring position with one out and at third with two outs in the fourth but couldn’t bring in it.
Mason O’Brien threw four shutout innings behind starter Streitz to get the win. The junior left-hander gave up two hits, struck out four and picked off a runner in the seventh. The Rams put only one runner in scoring position during his outing. Streitz gave up only two hits and struck out five. The runs he gave up scored on an infield ground out and a wild pitch.
Overbrook
101
000
0-
2
4
3
Pennsville
011
002
x-
4
7
0
WP: Mason O’Brien. LP: Anthony Nucera
Watt stays hot
CLAYTON – Ricky Watt is seeing the ball better than any time since his freshman year. It’s the kind of thing baseball players are known to say when they’re hitting the ball well, but you can’t argue with the results.
The Schalick junior catcher hit his third home run in his first nine at-bats this season and was one of 11 Cougars to collect a hit, score a run and drive one home in a 23-2 rout of Clayton Tuesday morning.
He went 2-for-3 in the game and is now hitting .800 (8-for-10) on the season. He hit three homers in 75 at-bats last season. The Cougars are 6-1 in games in which he hits a homer.
“I’m seeing the ball really well right now,” Watt said. “I put a lot of work in the offseason, in the cage and in the weight room, and I just think when you do that it’s bound to happen.
“I don’t know if it’s the best I’ve seen the ball. It’s definitely the most home runs I’ve hit in a short span. My freshman year I started off really well. Since then, this is the best I’ve been seeing the ball and been hitting the ball. I think the reason for that is maybe a little mindset change. I’ve just been thinking hit the ball hard, hit the ball as hard as I can pretty much without swinging out of my shoes.”
He hit .435 as a freshman with career highs in hits and RBIs (30). He started that year 13-of-22 over his first seven games (.591) and 23-of-45 in his first 13 (.511). If he plays the same number of games he did as a freshman this year, he’s on pace for 52 hits, 19 homers and 58 RBIs. That’ll certainly get him noticed for the next level, maybe two.
The run this year started right from the start. He homered in his first at-bat of the season – two pitches in – and has reached base in 13 of his 14 plate appearances. His homer against the Clippers was a solo shot in the second inning that gave the Cougars a 6-0 lead.
“He looks really good at the plate, looks confident,” coach Sean O’Brien said. “His home runs have been no-doubters.”
Watt credits the work he’s done in the offseason, particularly at the Baseball Performance Center in Egg Harbor.
“I didn’t play for a team in the fall and ended up making a move (there) and when I wasn’t wrestling I was going there five days a week and to the gym after,” he said. “Matt (Roland) helped me a lot. I think that was probably the biggest part of my training, working with him, working with my swing path, really breaking my swing down to the finest tuning that I can.
“I wouldn’t say I broke it down and rebuilt it, just some refining. It really wasn’t any major changes. It was just kind of polishing, reps and reps and reps. I didn’t really make huge adjustments, it was just kind of refining.”
A total of 13 Cougars collected a hit in the game, 13 scored a run and 12 drove one home. Evan Sepers had three hits and two RBIs. Jamari Whitley had two hits, four RBIs and threw one inning of shutout relief. Cole Hartley and Trail Aufflo had two hits apiece. Will Sieminski, Robert Strain and starting pitcher Jacob Schalick all had two RBIs.
The 23 runs are a season high, topping the 21 they put on Paulsboro in the season opener, and the most they’ve scored in a game since going for 24 against Paulsboro last May.
The Cougars (3-1) scored in every inning of the five-inning game, reached the run-rule threshold in the third and blew it wide open with 10 runs on nine hits in the fifth.
Schalick
524
2(10)
23
19
0
Clayton
003
00-
3
6
7
WP: Jacob Schalick. LP: David Chapes. HR: Ricky Watt (S)
SALEM TECH 25, WINSLOW 7: The Chargers (3-1) erupted for 15 runs in the first inning and broke the school record for runs in a game. Since giving up 10 runs in the first inning of their inaugural game, the Chargers have outscored their opponents 64-21.
Bryce Harris went 3-for-4 with three RBIs, Cole Sacks went 3-for-4 with two RBIs, Chase Pompper had two hits and Lucas Clement had two RBIs. Cooper Coles and Jaxson Raymond scored four runs apiece.
Raymond pitched the first three innings and got the win. He allowed three hits, three earned runs and struck out three. Jack Beal pitched the fourth and struck out the side.
Winslow
205
0-
7
3
3
Salem Tech
(15)82
x-
25
12
1
WP; Jaxson Raymond. LP: Aiden Rivera.
Softball
PENNSVILLE 14, OVERBROOK 6: Graillyn Weber went 3-for-3 with three RBIs and pitched a complete game in the circle to lead the Eagles. Her big hit was a two-run double in a five-run fourth that broke open the game.
The Eagles pounded 16 hits in the game. Kylie Harris went 3-for-5 with three RBIs, Reagan Wariwanchik had three hits and Avery Watson had two RBIs.
SCHALICK 20, CLAYTON 1: The Cougars parlayed six hits and 16 walks into their highest run production of the season and remain undefeated.
They broke away from a 1-1 tie with six runs in the second inning, then erupted for 13 runs in the third. Kaylee Broglin had two hits and four RBIs, Khloe McGrath drove in three runs, and Alexa Shimp and Taylor Brown each drove in a pair of runs.
Addi Shimp gave up two hits over four innings in the circle and struck out five.
HADDON HEIGHTS 7, WOODSTOWN 2: The Wolverines opened a 2-0 lead after two innings, but couldn’t hold it. The Garnets got three RBI singles in the third to take the lead and used three Woodstown errors in the sixth to score three more. Leah Clark had three hits for the Wolverines.
Girls lacrosse
WOODSTOWN 10, CLEARVIEW 9: Angelina Lindenmuth scored with 1:52 left to break a 9-9 tie and keep the Wolverines undefeated (4-0). Emma Perry scored a career-high fours, Arianna Hyman and Emma Morgan each scored twice and Blair Baldi scored a goal. Hyman also was credited with a career-high three assists.
It’s the first time the Wolverines have started 4-0 since 2018.
WOODSTOWN 166, OVERBROOK 218: Sophomore Jack Bucksar and senior Alejandro Vazquez both shot 4-over-par 39s at Town & Country Golf Links to share medalist honors. Bucksar had a birdied on the par-3 eighth, while Vazquez had five pars and four bogeys. WOODSTOWN: Jack Bucksar 39, Alejandro Vazquez 39, Nate Valente 45, Logan Jones 43; Josh Olbrich 48, Thomas Diprimio 51. OVERBROOK: Jeffrey Boyd 54, Braxton Gillis 47, Ashton Kubat 59, Harry Cieslak 58; Mark Scott 64.
CLAYTON 236, PENNSVILLE 240 CLAYTON: Jackson Venuto 51, Kyle Lex 53, Andrew Razucidio 66, Nathan Bollinger 66; Evan Torbik 72, Leigh Ann Nage 70. PENNSVILLE: Trevor Hann 52, Abigail Bohn 60, Makenna Minguez 63, Gabriella Marandola 65; Keagan Kaminski 68.
PITMAN 169, SALEM TECH 255 PITMAN: Joey Zubert 43, Jake Bowen-Ashwin 39, Max Pappalardo 41, Logan Sharpnack 46; Micha Frost 51, Owen Hurley 52. SALEM TECH: Daniel Atanasio 65, Cohen Sutton 60, Hannah Kormann 66, Sophia Conto 64; Thomas Conto 67, Jonah Baynes 70.
Girls golf
WILLIAMSTOWN 216, SCHALICK 226 WILLIAMSTOWN: Kaci Adams 44, Isabella Gordon 50, Maura Scott 60, McKenna Cole 62; Gabby Berenato 63, Olivia Willis 64. SCHALICK: Lena Virga 52, Cali Fisler 51, Miya Watkins 62, Natalie May 61; Ava Marynowicz 64, Ella Burger 64.Williamstown 216, Schalick 226
College baseball
LINCROFT — Salem CC’s trouble holding teams down continued Tuesday as the Mighty Oaks lost at Brookdale 21-5. It was the third straight game they’ve given up 20 or more runs.
The Mighty Oaks led 2-1 after batting in the second inning, then gave up seven runs in each of the second and third innings. They have 15 hits and walked nine. continued having trouble holding teams down Tuesday
